Customer Reviews

Bitch Is the New Black: A Memoir

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This is the second time I am reading the book and I am on page 12 laughing so hard! Pick it up, you'll get inside the mind of a smart, creative, funny and phenomenal woman, Helena Andrews!

This book is an amazing read. I stayed up all night to finish it, and will be reading it again. It is a well written account of several stories from the young writer's life. The book includes anecdotes that will make you either laugh or cry. You will NOT be disappointed when you read this book.

From the hype about this book, I started reading it with the expectation that I would be enlightened about why black women are largely single. Ha, fooled me! This book was a self-centered, arrogant rant about the author's life, with only tidbits here and there about black women's relationships with me. My girlfriend, for her birthday, invited several of her friends to a retreat, and she asked each of us to read the book. I only finished it so that I could participate in the discussion of the book, which turned out to be a discussion on how painful it was for each of us, well-degreed black women, to get through the book. The girlfriend who had asked us to read the book exclaimed, "there must be something that you liked about it!" Okay, I thought the writing style was engaging, but the content was horrible, disjointed, boring, convoluted, contrived, and way too detailed. If I were reading a book about Oprah Winfrey's life then, yes, I want all the tidbits; but for an author who few people have ever heard of before, I can't really get excited about her life story. I passed the book along to two other friends so that they wouldn't waste the money that I had wasted on it. I'm fine if they never return the book to me.

Finally, something smart, witty, sexy and realistic for the modern, ambitious black woman. I am thankful to Helena Andrews for continuing to sift through her strengths and vulnerabilities, showing the world that the "bitch" title black women often get is there for a reason--and yet, there is so much more to us. Thank you for bucking the trend and challenging the stereotype. I have already recommended the book to 3 friends and will continue to pass it along. Also, read Helena's weekly column "Single-Minded" on [...]!

Wickedly funny! Helena Andrews wrote a book that I could finally relate to. Situations ranging from "Dex10" to "he's gay" and "baby prom dress" were situations I could relate to. I appreciate your openness and honesty about some of the more personal hurdles and decisions you had to face at such a young age. I highly recommend this for the soon to be "30" crowd if you are looking for laughs. Great job Ms. Andrews!

Andrews is a terrific writer, engaging and cool like a walking one-woman episode of SEX AND THE CITY -- if SATC were black. I loved how the essays skipped back and forth over time. I loved her love for her character of a mother. I loved how she said duuuude in print All.The.Time. And having a BFF in Jersey, I was so feeling her relationship with her bicoastal best friend. Actually it helped that the essays clipped along at a fast pace, never overstaying their welcome, but leaving you with the impression that you had just taken in a really good story -- the best kind of party guest. But most of all, Andrews is really, really funny. I mean laugh-out-loud funny. I had to fight the urge not to put the book down and tweet something I had just read several times

Intelligent, hilariously (laugh yourself out of bed), witty, thought provoking, and at times heart-wrenching. Bitch is the New Black makes me proud to be an independent Woman nee Bitch! For the first time a young author supports and maintains that being a "Hilary Clinton-type Bitch" is not only ok but the HOT thing to do. Ms. Andrews is candid, honest, open, and endearing all at the same time -- a testament to what truth (at any age or life phase) can and should do...provoke growth and provide great story telling! Whether you've been kidnapped, had a full fledge relationship online, hated your boss, loved your BFF, and appreciated heels, #BITNB is for you. The book is well written, moving, and intellectually stimulating. A must read for all women over 22 and under 55. If you aspire to, have been or are a Bitch...wear it ladies...wear it! Bravo Helena!

I hoped for so much more & for the author to acknowledge things getting better throughout her 'journey'; that didn't happen. It wasn't the best book I've ever read but it definitely wasn't one of the worst.

It wasn't organized and not nearly as fascinating at the title compelled it to be. I agree with other readers-I being 29 also related to a few things that I experienced when I was 27 that she also experienced. I thought the book was funny, but disjointed and sporadic. I really wanted her to bust some balls here and she never seemed to rise to the occasion, only being passive aggressive. I appreciated her candor-I too have a racist pet LOL and at one point there was a "Dexter" <<who hasn't had one of those. I'm glad I didn't purchase the book. I would suggest you rent from the libary first before you Kindle/Buy/or borrow for keeps this memoir.

Right away, I was really intrigued by Helena's writing style. To me, it's very fresh and not a style I've come across frequently. The chapters are everything from funny to heartbreaking, and I can't wait to read it again!